Immigration

This portrait of Margaret Randall—activist, poet, writer, teacher and photographer—comes at a particularly appropriate time, as patriotism is being equated in some quarters with keeping silent about important issues.

This documentary explores the effects of 150 years of emigration trends on the culture of Ireland. It examines four specific time periods—the 1840s Famine, the turn of the twentieth century, the hostile 1950s, and the 1980s and 1990s, with the emergence of the 'Celtic Tiger' economy.

This video follows the lives of four Mexican women and their families whose undocumented husbands and partners, as workers at the World Trade Center, lost their lives in the tragic events of 9/11.

Traces the history of Birobidzhan, the capital of the Soviet Union's Jewish Autonomous Region, from 1928 to the present.

An in-depth look at economic relations between the U.S. and Mexico, including banking, trade and illegal immigration, and the impact of maquiladoras—labor-intensive factories owned by U.S. firms but located in Mexico—and how these "offshore" operations affect American consumers and workers.

This video chronicles the 1998 return to Cuba of an American college professor, Dr. Magaly Lavendenz, forced as a child to leave Cuba in 1962, and who grew up in the U.S., but with a distinct Cuban identity.

Five teen-aged Latinas living in San Francisco's Mission District-most of them recent immigrants from Mexico or other Central American countries-talk frankly about their lives, from discrimination and school , to friends and family relationships, experiences with gang activity and violence, and plans for the future. Their comments are blended with footage of neighborhood life and other activities to provide meaningful insights into the everyday lives of young Hispanic women in the U.S. today.

Examines U.S. immigration policy, its history as well as the current crisis, and shows how public opinion, human rights and political issues have historically influenced policy decisions.

This documentary examines the situation of Dominican immigration into New York City, detailing the economic pressures of unemployment and poverty in the Dominican Republic which have led to a rapidly growing Dominican community in New York, primarily in Brooklyn and the Washington Heights area of Upper Manhattan.

This expose of the plight of undocumented Mexican workers in the U.S. also provides a comprehensive overview of the complex issue of Mexican immigration, including interviews with prominent scholars, attorneys and organizers.

Particularly recommended as a teaching tool regarding issues of Latino Studies, Chicano Studies, Immigration, and Cultural Studies.

Filmmaker Bob Giges focuses on his spirited 90-year-old grandmother, Belle Demner McCoy, for an intimate portrait of one woman's struggle with the conflicts between family, religion and love.

A dramatic portrait of immigrant life in the U.S. as seen through the eyes of the sweatshop workers who made up the Jewish anarchist movement.

Novelist Peter Quinn hosts this documentary on Irish immigration into New York City in the mid-nineteenth century. The video visits the NYC locations described in Quinn's novel, The Banished Children of Eve, combining historical photos from the 1860's with remnants of the buildings in the 1990's.

Examines both the continuity and the changes that have affected Irish traditional music since the turn of the century. Using New York City as the focus, this video mixes historical photographs and film footage with contemporary interviews and performances.

Mary Crehan Dillon, the filmmaker's 96-year-old Irish-American grandmother, who as a 17-year-old emigrated alone to the U.S. in 1911, reminisces about her early life in Ireland, her momentous decision to emigrate, and her new life in America.

This video examines the world of amateur Irish dancing, featuring interviews with Irish women in Great Britain who have passed on this cultural tradition within their own families and the wider Irish immigrant community.

Based on the autobiography of Donegal-born Michael MacGowan, ( 1865-1948), this video is a stirring account of his life as a migrant worker and exile in America at the turn of the century.

Tells the story of Joe Hill (1879-1915), a Swedish immigrant to America who became a songwriter, cartoonist and labor organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and whose 1915 execution by the state of Utah for a crime he probably did not commit transformed him into a martyr for the labor movement and an international folk hero.

In 1889, amidst the slums of Chicago's Near West Side, pioneer social worker Jane Addams (1860-1935) opened Hull House to aid the poor, largely immigrant residents of the neighborhood.

An intimate portrait of the filmmaker's immigrant Central American family-in particular the macho traditions of his grandfather-woven from childhood memories and family reminiscences, revealing how exaggerated expressions of male identity can cost a man the love of his entire family.